The California Supreme Court on Monday reinstated an Oakland man's conviction for fatally "body slamming" his 14-month-old son in a 2003 assault the father told police was meant to "toughen up" the boy for life in Oakland.

In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court restored Reginald Wyatt's convictions for involuntary manslaughter and assault on a child causing death, preserving his 25-years-to-life prison sentence for the fatal assault on Reginald Wyatt Jr. It is the second time the Supreme Court has intervened and reversed a lower-court ruling setting aside Wyatt's 2008 conviction.

The decision Monday rejected an appeals court's finding that Wyatt's trial was tainted by a judge's failure to properly instruct an Alameda County jury.

"The prosecution's evidence supported its theory that defendant was guilty of administering multiple blunt force blows to Reginald (Jr.) that caused massive internal trauma and resulted in his death," Justice Marvin Baxter wrote.

Wyatt told police at the time of his arrest that he did not intend to harm his son, calling the assault "play wrestling." Court records show the father slammed his 31-pound son into a bed, hit him in the chest, elbowed him in the head and hoisted him by his neck, causing fatal injuries likened at trial to being in a car accident.

The defense argued that Wyatt did not intend to harm or seriously injure the boy, and should have been convicted of a lesser assault charge.

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Howard Mintz covers legal affairs. Contact him at 408-286-0236 or follow him at Twitter.com/hmintz.